Case History: Transforming Workforce Management in Pharma

How Eastridge MSP is helping one U.S. Pharmaceutical Leader Manage Its Extended Workforce

Pharmaceutical companies today face a myriad of challenges and opportunities. Rapid advancements in technology and stringent regulatory requirements demand constant innovation and compliance. Additionally, the need to manage a diverse and often global workforce, including both full-time and contingent workers, adds another layer of complexity. Efficiently managing this workforce is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency, ensuring compliance, and staying competitive in a dynamic market. Contingent labor is particularly important for pharmaceutical companies as it allows them to remain agile, scaling their workforce up or down based on project demands and market conditions.

Eastridge Workforce Solutions plays a crucial role in helping pharmaceutical companies navigate these complexities. Through its innovative workforce management platform, Talient, Eastridge offers streamlined management of contingent labor programs, ensuring companies can focus on their core missions without being bogged down by administrative inefficiencies.

Challenges

An American pharmaceutical company known for its innovation in developing cutting-edge treatments and therapies faced significant challenges in managing its contingent workforce. This company, which focuses on various therapeutic areas, including oncology, cardiology, and immunology, employs a mix of full-time and contingent workers across multiple departments such as R&D, IT, finance, and marketing. As the company continued to grow, it encountered difficulties due to the lack of a streamlined system to track the number of contingent workers, their roles, and the equipment they used.

The absence of a contract management system further exacerbated the problem. Essential documents like Statements of Work (SOWs) and Master Service Agreements (MSAs) were scattered and difficult to locate, leading to prolonged legal processes. The company’s practice of hiring contingent workers for short-term needs (ranging from six months to a year) without a centralized system created inefficiencies and bottlenecks, hindering overall productivity.

Additionally, the company's rapid growth and reliance on a small internal team to manage procurement and workforce logistics highlighted the need for a more efficient and scalable solution.

Solutions

Eastridge MSP was selected as the Managed Service Provider (MSP) to address these challenges. The decision was based on Eastridge's ability to provide effective communication, timely task completion, and a high-priority service tailored to the company's specific needs.

Eastridge introduced Talient, their Vendor Management System (VMS), to streamline the management of the company's contingent labor programs. Talient offers an intuitive user interface designed to provide simple solutions for complex workforce needs. By focusing on the worker and client user experience, Talient creates efficiencies and integration options for clients using third-party staffing partners within MSP programs.

Eastridge began by conducting thorough benchmarking and analysis to understand the company’s requirements and the scope of its contingent workforce. Talient helped to centralize all information related to the contingent workforce, providing a user-friendly interface that minimized the need for extensive internal management and aligned with the company's preference for a hands-off approach.

The solution was designed to be adaptable to the company’s size and growth trajectory. Eastridge positioned themselves as a partner rather than just a vendor, offering personalized and responsive support. This approach was crucial given the small internal team responsible for procurement and workforce management.

Results

The implementation of the MSP program brought several tangible benefits to the American pharmaceutical company:

• Centralized Workforce Management: Talient consolidated all contingent workforce data into a single system. This centralized repository enabled easier tracking of workers, their roles, and associated equipment, significantly reducing the time spent searching for information.
• Streamlined Processes: The program helped to streamline the legal and contractual processes by organizing SOWs in one accessible location. This organization reduced the legal processing time from months to weeks, improving overall operational efficiency.
• Improved Communication and Efficiency: Eastridge’s responsive and high-priority service ensured that any delays caused by the company’s small internal team were managed effectively. The implementation timeline was adhered to as closely as possible, with Eastridge accommodating the internal team’s schedule constraints.
• Scalability and Future Growth: The scalable nature of Eastridge’s MSP solution supported the company’s ongoing growth. Since the program’s inception, the company added over 100 full-time employees and continued to expand its contingent workforce. Talient’s flexible design allowed for seamless integration of new workers and departments, facilitating smooth scalability.
• Enhanced Decision-Making: With accurate and up-to-date data on the contingent workforce, the company’s procurement and HR departments could make more informed decisions. This clarity also helped identify and eliminate bottlenecks in approval processes, contributing to more efficient operations.

Conclusion

Eastridge’s implementation of its MSP program successfully addressed this company’s challenges in managing its contingent workforce. By providing a centralized, user-friendly VMS and high-priority service, Eastridge enhanced the company’s operational efficiency, reduced legal processing times, and supported its growth trajectory. This example underscores why it’s vital to select an adaptable and communicative MSP partner to streamline workforce management and drive organizational success.